Archive for April 2009

Pete Um’s songular short stories of almost noise-core shortness actually demand in the rarest cases more time for verification on our part. When he e.g. in “floorclothes”* (as a Genesis P. Orridge as such would understand it) in “The God Of War” calls “Mr. Tony Blair” in a short mantra, no further minutes of filler are needed. Pete Um presents himself here as the master of the uber strangeing* of cantilevered Vaudeville/Air conglomerations and through this he reaches a partial depersonification and an onomatopoeic utopianism, as perhaps only the Residents have ***** him during their best moments. One may also gladly label something like this modern Krautrock. At any rate, Gagarin Records serves as exactly the right place of refuge for this pictoral music existing in a world of wonder to the power of 18. (Gagarin Rec.) Donis”

* a direct translation. I think it might be as meaningless in German.
***** no idea.

A great shame cos I know Simon has done a ton of work for this. However, something has been salvaged and it’s a good something:

IT IS WITH DEEP REGRET THAT WE MUST ANNOUNCE THAT
PALIMPSEST FESTIVAL IS CANCELLED

BUT…..

THE SUBLIME FREQUENCIES TOUR WITH OMAR SOULEYMAN AND GROUP DOUEH
IS STILL TAKING PLACE IN CAMBRIDGE ON THE 30th MAY.

The festival was cancelled due to a major overrun of planned works at All Saints Church along with asbestos being found at the church. No alternative venue could be found in Cambridge to accommodate the all day event. Full details on the new show below.

AN EMAIL HAS BEEN SENT TO ALL OF THOSE WHO HAVE PURCHASED TICKETS. Please reply to this email if you have not received an email.

Group Doueh are led by the enigmatic guitar hero Bamaar Salmou, who is known simply as ‘Doueh’ (pronounced: ‘Doo-way’). They are from Dakhla, in the Western Sahara. The group’s sound is unlike anything that you’ve ever heard before. It is a sound that is rooted in the traditional foundations of Sahrawi/Hassania music, but one that is also entirely its own. It shares its roots with the neighboring styles of Mauritanian music, however Group Doueh have managed to transcend the classical limitations of that music with a fiery, independent, and avant approach that incorporates a distinctly pop and rock element that is anomalous in the region. This is a sound that can only come from the land that inspired it. This is the sound of the Sahara desert. It is a searing, meditative, and hypnotic modal sandstorm of note clusters that has been cathartic to anyone who has heard it. Group Doueh have been playing together for over 20 years. The band consists of their leader, Doueh on guitar and tinidit, his wife Halima on vocals and tbal, their son Jamal on organ, and longtime friend Bashiri also on vocals. They had declined several offers from Moroccan, French and Spanish recording labels to release their music. It was not until Sublime Frequencies, after a long search for the music landed them at the man’s house in Dakhla, that Doueh agreed to have his music released for the very first time. Sublime Frequencies & QuJunktions are proud to present Group Doueh’s first ever UK appearance and extended shows in Europe.

OMAR SOULEYMAN

Omar Souleyman is a musical legend from Syria. For the past 15 years, he and his group have emerged as a staple of folk-pop throughout the country, having issued more than five-hundred studio and live-recorded cassette albums which are easily spotted in the shops of any Syrian city.

Hailing from the rural Northeastern city of Ras Al Ain, Souleyman began his musical career in 1994 with a small group of local collaborators that have been with him from the start. The group tirelessly performs concerts throughout Syria and has accepted invitations to perform abroad in Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Lebanon.

The myriad musical traditions of the region are evident in their music, which reflect the sounds of Syia, Iraq, Turkey and the sizable Kurdish population. The moods swing from coarse and urgent to dirgy and contemplative in the rugged anthems that comprise Souleyman’s repertoire. Expect the ultimate party music. Omar’s superb and varied vocal stylings feature over high-octane Syrian “Dabke” (the regional folkloric dance music) and a host of other styles. Frantic Arabic keyboard solos provided by the incredible Rizan Sa’id intertwine with reeds, stringed instruments and percussion. Mahmoud Harbi, a long-time collaborator and the man responsible for much of the poetry sung by Souleyman accompanies Omar for an unforgettable onstage collaboration as they perform the Ataba, a traditional form of folk poetry, where Omar’s unaccompanied freestyle “mawal” singing stands in a league of its own.

Sublime Frequencies & QuJunktions are honored to present the Western debut of Omar Souleyman and his group with this UK/European concert tour. This is a rare opportunity to glimpse into Syrian street-level folk-pop – a phenomenon seldom heard in the West in this form, and rarely, if ever, included on the import agenda of worldwide academic musical committees. Experience the genuine sounds of Syria and the Middle East without the condescending polish and shine of much exported “world beat”.

SUBLIME FREQUENCIES & DJ SETS

Sublime Frequencies was founded in 2003 by Alan Bishop, Hisham Mayet, and Richard Bishop. In just over 5 years, the label has produced 35 CDs, 8 DVDs, and 5 LPs.

The projects are divided into four areas of presentation: regional radio collages, field recordings, folk and pop music compilations, and video/film documentaries. Sublime Frequencies is self-motivated, self-financed, and fearless in approach. The world is changing so quickly that it has become apparent that cultures and ideas from less-developed countries will be buried and replaced entirely by the export of western-styled culture unless there are alternative perceptions of the great traditions and hybrids of these traditions that still remotely exist today across the globe.

The productions are not limited to their own archive and expand to the many associates the group correspond and work with who have similar interests. The list of contributors to the label includes Mark Gergis, Robert Millis, Tucker Martine, fm3, Laurent Jeanneau, Carlos Casas, Stuart Ellis, Hicham Chadly, Geoff Hawrylk, and Anla Courtis.

Today’s ‘controlled’ presentation of foreign culture, traditions, and spiritualism in the west is steeped in judgment and spin agenda. SF are presenting some of the greatest expressive music in the world with only one agenda in mind: that it needs to be heard or seen, respected and recognized.

Pete Um is a tape-poet from Cambridge, UK, with sardonic humour, unreliable MD player and a bunch of weird electronic miniatures. When not depressed, he can be a great entertainer. Meanwhile, his music had been boosted by eccentrics such as Ariel Pink. Attempts to define his personality provoke his peers to phrases like…

…Um is an electro-dadaist pop star peddling audio anxiety and monomania from the digital kitchen sink
…Um is the glint in Delia Derbyshire’s eye as she puts Kurt Schwitters and Julian Cope to the razor blade
…Absolute belter of oddball proportions

The Doozer takes adventures into observational sounds and distorted voices with releases on Pickled Egg, Doozer Industries and upcoming on Slowtapes.

UNITARIAN CHURCH HALL

The Unitarian Church Hall is located behind the Unitarian Church on Emmanuel Road, Cambridge. It is 2 minutes from Cambridge Central Drummer Street Bus Station and a 20 min walk from the train station.

There are a number of central car parks near the venue (5-10 min walk). The closest are the Grand Arcade and Adam & Eve Street. Full information on Cambridge car parks here.

Pete Um’s short story songs in concise noise-core format indeed don’t
require any more length in most cases in order to be verified fom us.
For example, when he conjures “Mr Tony Blair” in a “floor dress” – as
Mr P-Orridge would consider (wear) it – it really doesn’t need any
more “filling” minutes to express that.
Pete Um impersonates a master of “incredible alienation” of
cantilevered Vaudeville-air-mixes and sometimes achieves a
de-personalization and onomatopoetic utopia that arguably only the
Residents have touched (sharpened) in their best moments. This can be
easily labeled as modern Krautrock in the best sense. At any rate,
Gagarin Records is the perfect address for this 18-track-wonderworld
of imaginary music.

Been capturing, rendering and uploading like some kind of unemployed motherfucker over the past few days, so I thought I would draw attention to some of the slightly over-ripe fruits of my dubious labours. To wit, as above, the gig Phil and I played with Brain Of Morbius in Bern in September of 2003. I wrote about the short trip at length here. Make sure you read the three posts after that one too. Well, you don’t have to, but you know what I mean.

I’ll post some video stills next but Firefox is giving me voodoo so I can’t do it on this post.